


Dust and Devils on My Conscience

by orphan_account



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Coda, Episode: s05e08 Coda, F/M, alternative ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-16
Updated: 2014-12-16
Packaged: 2018-03-01 19:45:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2785460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Daryl can feel himself sweating, his heart hammering against his rib cage. He wants to march up there and yank her back, growl in her face, and make her <em>stop</em>. He wants to manhandle her into submission and keep her from playing the hero, but he can’t get his feet to move. Daryl wonders if this is how a rabbit feels trapped in one of his snares. It’s not like it really matters, though. He knows he’s never been good at <em>making</em> Beth do anything. "</p><p>Alternate ending to "Coda."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dust and Devils on My Conscience

“I knew you’d be back.”

It’s like whatever air had been left in the room after Dawn demanded Noah evaporated. Beth’s face is turned away from him but Daryl can see the way her spine stiffens. He notices the slow swivel of her head to stare down Dawn. It’s terrifying. He’s spent his whole life learning the signs that lead up to a fight, and he knows Beth better than most. He can see her getting ready to face Dawn, and it’s scary as hell. He knows that Beth is a force to be reckoned with, that she’s tougher than others may guess, but the thought of her taking on this woman makes him sick.

He watches, frozen, as Beth disentangles herself from Noah and steps in front of Dawn. Her steps are measured, deliberate. It’s as if she’s stalking prey. Daryl can feel himself sweating, his heart hammering against his rib cage. He wants to march up there and yank her back, growl in her face, and make her _stop_. He wants to manhandle her into submission and keep her from playing the hero. But he can’t get his feet to move. Daryl wonders if this is how a rabbit feels trapped in one of his snares. It’s not like it really matters, though. He knows he’s never been good at _making_ Beth do anything.

She juts her chin upwards, defiant and strong, and he feels a jolt of pride in his chest alongside the fear.

“I get it now.”

Daryl can imagine the slight tremble in her bottom lip from the shake in her voice, but her body doesn’t betray her. She’s still standing tall, hands curled into fists at her sides. It fans the fluttering of hope in his heart.

Dawn swallows, clearly having difficulty maintaining a severe stare to match Beth’s. He understands; Beth’s eyes can strip a person down to the bone. And when she gets to speaking? There’s not a force on Earth left to save you. Daryl remembers her shouting at him, drunk on moonshine, her words cutting through the bullshit like Michonne’s katana cuts down walkers.

 _I want you stop acting like you don’t give a crap about anything! Like nothing we went through_ matters _!_

Beth could pull the humanity out of your throat and make you choke on your sins. Daryl had thought her an angel at times; remembering the way she gripped him tightly, holding him together while he shook apart confessing his failures. She’d absolved him that day, her forehead resting between his shoulder blades as though she could leech away his pain. Daryl thought it a miracle that someone as innocent as her would even bother to save someone like him.

He should’ve known that such heavenly grace would be accompanied by divine wrath.

“You’re a coward.”

Daryl inhales sharply, he can see that she’s hit a nerve. He watches as Dawn’s face closes off, her hand going to her gun instinctually. 

“ _Beth_ ,” he hisses, desperate to bring an end to this exchange. It’s only been seven words and Daryl already feels like he’s back on that moonshiner’s porch, drowning.

 _I’ll be gone one day_.

Daryl knows he’s begging, but he doesn’t give a shit. He can’t find it in himself to be embarrassed, not when Beth’s so close but too damn far away. Not when he can sense the walls coming down around them. If pleading will make Beth leave this fucking hallway alive, then that’s what he’ll do.

 “ _Beth_.”

She ignores him, shoulders square and head high, refusing to shy away from Dawn’s attempt at intimidation.

“You’re so scared that they’re gonna look at you and see someone _weak_ ,” Beth spits the word, “that you don’t even wanna _try_ to do the right thing anymore.”

Hearing the righteous fury in her voice, Daryl wouldn’t doubt it if she had the full might of Heaven behind her.

“Why can’t you see that we have to retain order? We do _good_ here. We _save_ people. We saved _you_. And we need Noah to continue to do that.”

It feels like a line that’s been told before, something that Beth’s heard often. It makes him clench his jaw, bristling with the thought that these people, that woman, actually believe they saved her.

_She’s tough. She saved herself._

Beth steps forward and he can see the effort it takes Dawn to keep from leaning back.

“I saved _you_ , remember?” Beth grits out, quiet enough that Daryl has to strain to hear the words. Dawn’s officers shuffle in the back, unclear what’s going on. “So…you owe _me_.”

Dawn blanches, opening her mouth to respond, “That’s –“

“That’s how it works, right?” Beth interrupts, “You want to play by your rules? _Fine_. You _owe_ me.”

Daryl’s hands are itching for his bow, clenching and unclenching, ready to fly into action at the first sign of trouble. He’s standing even with Rick now, and can feel the other man vibrating with the same nervous energy.

“Give us Noah, let us leave, and we’ll call it square.”

He wonders if this was what it was like for Rick, staring through the fence at the Governor refusing to give up their home without a fight.

Daryl feels just as helpless now as he did then.

The two woman stare at each other unblinking, a silent conversation passing between their eyes. He wants to shout at them to _use their fucking words_.

To his relief, Dawn’s hand slips from her holster with a defeated nod, “Alright.”

She turns to face her officers and wards, “Beth and Noah will leave with this group. The rest of us will continue as normal.”

Her tone brooks no argument, even as she looks over her shoulder at Beth, as though daring her to disagree. Daryl holds his breath, knowing that Beth would want to take everyone she could and tear this fucked up system apart. Hell, he wants to shoot every single one of those bastards that held Beth and Noah, and god only knows who else, against their will and then burn the place to the fucking ground just like that piece of shit shack. But Daryl knows they all won’t survive that kind of fight and he doesn’t want to take that risk.

_Just tired of losing people._

He watches Beth’s body tighten even further, but she simply presses her lips together into a firm, unhappy line. There’s a slightly bitter taste in Daryl’s mouth, but he’s mostly overcome with relief at her reluctant acceptance. He knows that they were already pushing their luck and he knows he couldn’t have handled Beth pushing even further in this moment, opening herself up to _more_ danger.

Dawn gives Rick a curt nod, and it breaks whatever spell was keeping them rooted to the spot.

Daryl and Rick move instantly, reaching out to Beth. She’s insistently pushing Noah back towards Sasha as their hands find her. Rick clasps her wrist, tugging her to turn away from Dawn, while Daryl slips his palm against her back, guiding her towards the doors. As though as soon as she’s out of sight from Dawn and the other officers she’s out of danger. Daryl glances at Rick over her head, relieved to see protectiveness and fear echoed in the other man’s eyes. They both know this exchange could have gone much, much worse. In all honesty, Daryl’s still expecting it to blow up in their face.

Beth refuses to look back towards Dawn as they exit. Daryl doesn’t know if it’s a last act of defiance towards her former captor, or simply a demonstration of her trust in them to protect her, but he finds his heart swelling with affection for the younger Greene and her stubborn faith.

_I wish I could just change._

_Ya did._

He lets his palm move to rest on her shoulder, a silent gesture of comfort and support, as they follow Tyrese and Sasha assisting Carol and Noah to the ground floor. She doesn’t say anything but he can feel the tension leaving her body the more steps they take away from Dawn and the rest of the officers. Eventually, she reaches up to press her hand against his.  

**Author's Note:**

> I had been gearing up to finally contribute to The Walking Dead fandom for awhile, and it's a bit of a bummer that what finally pushes me into posting this...but, it is what it is. This has been sitting on my computer for awhile, but I'm just gonna bite the bullet and put it out there.
> 
> The first chapter isn't necessarily very ~shippy~, but when I was writing it I was attempting to replace canon in a realistic way and this is what I came up with. I am proud of the dialogue and I can easily envision Beth saying this to Dawn. The next two chapters will continue along the alternative story-line as we move past the hallway scene, although there will be an emphasis on the Beth/Daryl relationship. That being said, I still think that _this_ chapter shows the strong bond between Beth and Daryl, even if it is not framed especially romantically.
> 
> I wrote from Daryl's perspective because I wanted it to have an outsider POV to the Dawn and Beth exchange, much like we (the viewers) had. I hoped to give this scene a similar feel to the mid-season finale, but without the death.
> 
> Additionally, I am aware that I was a tad heavy on the symbolism but the _wonder_ that Daryl looks at Beth with is enough for it to be acceptable, in my opinion. 
> 
> Finally, I _am_ still new at this whole fanfic thing, so advice and criticism is greatly appreciated. You can reach me [here](http://theeggcamefirst.tumblr.com)


End file.
